THE heartbroken mum of a young man who reportedly fell to his death admits she always feared her son would die if he did not get the correct mental health support, an inquest has heard.
Chris Nota, 19, died after falling from a bridge in Queensway, Southend, on July 8, 2020.
A full inquest into his death began at Essex Coroner’s Court yesterday, and revealed Mr Nota had been under the care of Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) at Hart House, in Southend, before he died.
During the hearing, a statement read out on behalf of Mr Nota’s mum, Julia Hopper, revealed she had long feared the worst for her son.
She claimed he was in need of more support from mental health services, adding he had previously attempted to take his own life in hospital before his death.
Reading the statement on behalf of Ms Hopper, coroner Sean Horstead said: “I was scared he would die without the correct support. I wanted him to come home but I was scared I couldn’t do it on my own.
“I think it was May 25, 2020, I got a call from Chris and it was on loud speaker and I was told he was having a meeting about being discharged from Rochford Hospital. I was very concerned about him not having a discharge plan.
“He had tried to take his own life in the hospital. I felt I had to fight hard and he didn’t have the capacity to make the decision about being discharged. I felt I was being dismissed.
“I had a virtual meeting on June 19, 2020, with health professionals and I wanted him to be assessed.
“Hart House was so much less than he needed.
“I knew he was very complex and needed to be assessed.”
The inquest was told police, paramedics and the air ambulance was called to the scene in Queensway after Mr Nota fell from the bridge.
The hearing was also told how he had been talked down from the bridge on a previous occasion, as well as being sectioned for his mental health on another occasion.